Friday, February 4, 2011

Dolly and the hounds of winter

It's known that animals can appreciate music. I can tell that Henry likes hearing it. But Dolly -

Dolly seems to really enjoy good music. I've caught her more than once with her little ear right next to the boombox, listening to classical.  We listen week-nightly to a jazz program which she also enjoys - here she is listening to Dave Brubeck. When my mother was alive, the two of them often listened to John Denver cds.
And when she's in a certain mood, she gets that "smile" and the contented air which cats do. 

I've tried repeatedly to capture this with the camera, and finally got it.  The other day I was playing Sting's If on a Winter's Night, and I noticed how she was obviously tuned right in to it.


Smiling, in that cat way.  I did say it was Sting, didn't I?  And the song was - The Hounds of Winter.  Oh, yes. The hounds of winter. 

So, was she smiling at the music?  Or imagining herself flying across the snowy landscape, chasing after the Hounds Of Winter?  Whoever they may be.



Either way, Dolly - enjoy.

6 comments:

  1. That is the most perfect Dolly photo, I love it! Sting is a favorite, I can imagine that very look on my human face while listening....totally content!

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  2. Thank you! I laugh every time I see these pictures. But you know, not every song on the cd is entirely melodious - some are a little - I don't know - not something I would expect a discerning cat to enjoy! It surprised me.

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  3. I love that she's a cat who loves music of all kinds...no discrimination from Dolly! And that sweet little Mona Lisa smile....

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  4. Yes - one time, she appeared to be getting into some real hard-core jazz, like Miles Davis or something. I was amazed!

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  5. I second Kathryn. She looks so happy!

    Cats love when someone plays the flute. Especially those high notes. Whistling with your mouth has the same effect, too. They come and practically try to stick their heads into your mouth, or into the flute. It's weird. It was already Karel Čapek who noted this somewhere.

    And I'm not so surprised that she likes those unlikely songs. The other day, I was listening to some rock music (I can't remember what it was) and one of our cats went and sat right in front of the speakers!

    Also, our late hamster loved listening to the radio. It was obvious. We used to listen to a specific programme in the evenings, with lots of music (mostly country and folk), and he always stopped doing whatever he was doing, stood at the bars of his cage, and listened with us.

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  6. The hamster story is funny - so, even they like music! As for the whistling, I can't do it, so I can't try it on our cats, but that's interesting.

    My boss says she used to have a cat who truly loved hearing the opera every week on the radio. So, just like us, they have their individual tastes.

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